Chapter 918: Old Friend Is Both Handsome and Can Fight?
The truth was that the company’s employees, and the garage, the elevator, and the two floors underground, didn’t exist.
Even if someone tried to force their way into the underground lab, they would be subdued by the defense measures inside, and Luke would be informed to handle it.
The elevator opened into a separate and sealed space.
Luke put the fake phone in front of the scanner again, and the heavy alloy door finally opened.
In the spacious room, bright lights lit up one after another, and a gentle female voice rang out. “Welcome, sir.”
Luke hummed. “Sponge, it’s been a while. How are you?”
A gentle female voice rang out. “Thank you for your concern. I’m doing well here.”
Luke said, “Record the lady next to me. She has first-tier access to the lab.”
“Yes, sir.” The woman’s voice rang out. “Recorded.”
Selina was curious. “Is she an A.I. program too?”
Luke nodded. “Yes. You can ask her anything you want to know. We’ll be here more often in the future. It’s our second home.” Saying that, he was about to leave.
Gold Nugget whined.
Luke: “What?”
Selina walked leisurely to the living area on the side. “It’s asking, what about its authorization?”
Luke: “…Sponge. Record this dog as second-tier access.”
Gold Nugget whined.
Luke said, “First-tier access is mainly for use of the test equipment. So, have you memorized the multiplication table?”
The dog turned around decisively and followed Selina to look at the new place.
Luke curled his lip. There’s no challenge in getting rid of a super bad student like you.
Putting Gold Nugget aside, Luke walked into the lab on the side and checked the equipment.
Only 60% of the equipment he needed was here; the rest had either been ordered or were temporarily out of stock.
But he would never have enough research equipment.
Even if the equipment wasn’t old, most of the equipment here would be outdated in five years and would still need to be changed regardless.
So, Luke wasn’t in a hurry. Buying them one after another was still fine.
Twenty minutes later, he activated the virtual screen and got ready to work.
There was suddenly a burst of “oh, yeah!” and “come on, baby!” He looked over with a dark expression and saw Gold Nugget jumping around in a panic because it wasn’t familiar with the facilities here.
A few seconds later, it was Selina who turned off the virtual screen in the living area, and she shrugged. “It wanted to watch a drama.”
Recalling the almost life-sized characters on the virtual screen, Luke sighed. “Do you have to make it so big? You can shrink it down a little. Also, you can shut out the light and make the living area soundproof, plus there are wireless earphones. There’s no need to use the external sound system.”
Selina laughed, then rubbed the dog’s head angrily. “I told you not to mess around! Hear that? Go to the side and shrink the image and put on the earphones to watch your drama.”
Gold Nugget did as she said.
Looking at the situation, Luke shook his head with a smile and closed the door to the lab. He then lowered the transparency of the window and got to work.
The hitman who appeared yesterday had revealed that there was a bounty on them, so Luke decided to postpone the cleanup operation.
He had just leveled up but had yet to reach 40 Mental Strength.
When his Mental Strength reached 40, he would need another day or two to get used to it.
Also, he was New York’s “local bully.”
Only an idiot would rashly start a war without knowing the hitmen’s numbers and strength.
Intelligence came first before any operation.
So, it was better for him and Selina to take a break for the next few days, and take advantage of the time to use the lab facilities to improve their equipment.
After a busy day, Luke received a call from Robert after dinner.
After trading greetings, Robert asked, “How are you doing in New York?”
Luke didn’t think much of it. “It’s fine. The boss has our backs; he’s NYPD’s First Deputy Commissioner, and my colleagues aren’t stupid enough to pick a fight with me. It feels pretty much like in Shackelford.”
Robert said, “…You sure are confident.”
Having lived with Luke for more than ten years, Robert had a deep understanding of his personality. It wasn’t his habit to talk big or brag.
If he said it was fine, that meant that Luke was doing well in NYPD.
After confirming that, Robert got down to business. “Here’s the thing. I contacted my old friends about the security company you mentioned. Two of them said that they could come, but the person whom I think is the most important and suitable is missing.”
Luke thought for a moment before he asked, “You suspect something happened to him?”
Robert said, “A little. When I quit back then, I completely cut off all contact with these old friends of mine. But when I contacted the others, they said that they had no news on this person; apparently, he quit completely.”
Luke thought for a moment before he asked, “Do you need me to find him?”
Robert said, “Our information back then was confidential, and we didn’t talk details, but I know that his family is in New York, and he probably has a wife, a son, and a daughter. You might be able to find him through NYPD. If he’s doing well now, you don’t have to bother him.”
Luke smiled. Robert was worried that his old comrade might not be doing well.
“Okay, I’ll try. What’s his name?” said Luke.
Robert said, “Back then, we usually called him Francis Stronghold, but that’s definitely a fake name, so…”
Luke wasn’t too surprised. He asked casually, “What were you called?”
Robert: “…Gray rabbit.”
Luke immediately understood.
“Robert Grayson” sounded a little like “Rabbit Gray.”
But Robert’s old comrade’s name didn’t necessarily follow this pattern.
Military code names could even be the name of your ex-girlfriend’s father.
No regular person would be able to guess the reason behind the names.
“Anything else about him?” asked Luke.
“He should be around 35 years old, but I’m not sure,” Robert said. “He’s the sort who likes buzz cuts. Appearance-wise… he looks a little fierce, and his face is shaped like a trapezium.”
Luke: “…Is he better looking than you?”
Robert was silent for a moment, as if a little angry. “Nonsense. I’m much more handsome than he is.”
Luke pondered for a moment, but didn’t dare ask if Francis was better at fighting than Robert.
Hardcore straight man Robert would say, “What’s the use of being handsome? I can beat him up easily.”
Looking at it another way, it was possible that a certain someone had been beaten up by Mr. Francis before, which was why he would haggle over being better looking.
Luke said, “That works too. You probably don’t have his picture. You can have Catherine draw a sketch and fax it to me.”